Yogini Dee is Alive and WELL!

It's been a week of yoga, meditation, yoga nidra, practicing non-attachment, and eating delicious vegetarian foods, all amongst other yogis who I've quickly grown to adore. The weekend workshop dedicated to non-attachment was fabulous and created a deeper understanding of the concept for me. The best analogy given about this concept was regarding non-attachment to money: A bank teller will deal with loads of cash all day long, counting, giving, and receiving. They are not attached to the money going through their hands during the day, but after work, when they are at the grocery store and they realize the food they have selected will cost over $100, they cringe and react to their feelings of attachment. Simple concept, but very difficult to implement into all situations. One of the non-attachment concepts that I've been working with during the past year is my appearance: my clothes, my style, my hair. On the second morning of the workshop, I thought about what it would be like to shave my head and release my attachment, literally, to my hair. The idea spent the day swimming about in my thoughts, and the following morning I decided to do it. After I asked Atmabhava, one of the yogi residents, if he would like to shave my head, he said, "There's nothing like the present!" I believe he took great pleasure in using the clippers on my head, perhaps too much pleasure! There is a wonderful photo of the event on my camera, but I am having issues with downloading at the moment, so I'll insert the photo later. It was an interesting experience. I saw all of my hair on the ground by my feet, and it felt invigorating! I stood up, felt my head and thought, "Wow, I did it!" A beautiful woman there said to me, "You are radiating! Do you feel it?" I certainly did. Lightness. Openness. Radiance. How delicious! It was five hours later before I looked at my reflection in a mirror. At first, it was just really strange, but the feeling instantly turned to a peaceful acceptance, and I noticed my face was much brighter. One of my friends, Sagar, said that a happy baldy is a really happy baldy and an unhappy baldy is a very unhappy baldy. In other words, there is no hair to shade or hide the face, so emotions come across very clearly. Lucky for me that I smile most of the day! The rituals and schedule of the yoga retreat is exactly what I was looking for. I am up at 5:30 AM every morning to do yoga, breakfast at 7:30 AM, some karma yoga for an hour (usually a bit of cleaning and office work), yoga nidra (deep relaxation) at 12:00 PM, lunch at 12:30 PM, meditation at 5:30 PM, dinner at 6:00 PM, and then I usually pass out with wonderful intention at around 9:00 PM. This schedule suits my body and mind very well. With the realization of the fit between the jobs required at the yoga retreat and my skills (from computers to photography and even to chainsaws!), the owners have invited me to stay at least a month. I am happy to be here and am excited to stay for more of an extended time period. It feels like I've lived there a long time. I belong here for now. It is a wonderful and engaging place to call home for the time being. I have much to learn from the people here, and I feel I have a lot to offer as well. A beautiful match. This weekend, I've left my humble abode 700 metres atop the mountains in Golden Bay and have come back to sea level in Nelson for the Festival of Opportunities For Body Mind & Spirit. And to my wonderful surprise, my friend Brian is here in Nelson this weekend too. We met two months ago in Ahipara on the North Island, and he's been riding his bicycle all over the country while Beth and I were burning fumes... It's really great to see him again. I'm really happy right now, and am enjoying being here, in the moment, in what appears to be my element. And I just finished the most excellent hazelnut treat square from the local market. MMmmmmm-mmmm! .... but I'm not attached. [big smile] This week, I'll try to fix the photo issue (I think I know the solution), and then next time I'm in Nelson, I'll post some photos of my new hair style, or lack thereof, and pics of the Anahata Yoga Retreat, and evidence of some seriously fun kite flying in the fields with the sheep, the sunset and the view of Golden Bay. Hari Om!